I am very much looking forward to my summer abroad experience with Professor Gupta in Milan! I am interested and excited to learn in Professor Gupta’s Corporate Social Responsibility course, where I expect to learn more about a company’s obligations beyond what is required for their own gain. In other words, what a company is responsible for in regards to the wellness and success of its community and surrounding environment. This topic is full of varying opinions and unclear answers, leading to lots of discussion and debates which help people to consider various viewpoints. I aim to learn and gain understanding in this class by being attentive in group discussion and actively working with and listening to others when in groups.

As for the internship seminar, I expect this portion of the program to be very beneficial in developing my professional skills. In this seminar, I am prepared to learn how to create a well rounded resume and develop professional habits. This is very useful information to learn at this point in my academic career, as I prepare to interview for future internships and work in serious company environments. Knowing how to utilize these skills would definitely help me to better present myself as a serious candidate for jobs, and furthermore better communicate with my peers in a corporate setting (if I were to take the corporate route). Overall, learning more about this topic will be very beneficial to me as I start to grow professionally.

I am very eager for the hands-on internship portion of this program. I have only held one internship position before and it was in a very local environment, so I am excited to branch out. From this internship, although I have not been placed yet, I expect to be exposed to new jobs and career types which will be very beneficial in opening my eyes to potential career paths I may want to pursue. Besides this, I also expect to learn about Italian/European working culture, and actively partake in their working habits and styles. I am excited and prepared to develop professional connections and absorb whatever knowledge they are willing to teach me, regarding both my work position and the company’s work style.

Lastly, the part of this program I am most excited for is to experience Milan and its culture through personal and group travel. I expect to make the most of this part of the experience, using all the time available outside of the internship and class to learn and explore Milan. I expect to step out of my comfort zone and immerse myself in the Italian lifestyle. I plan to do this by making the most of the Italian language class and group activities, as well as exploring different areas of the city and country when there is time available. In all, I expect to learn a lot of different useful skills and knowledge throughout the length of this program, from professional skills, to cultural knowledge, to considerate viewpoints on corporate social responsibility.